Electric temperature-regulator



(No Model.)

0. E. LEE.

ELECTRIC TEMPERATURE REGULATOR.

No. 357,838. Patented Feb. 15, 1887.

W/T/VESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. LEE, OF ROCHESTER, N'ElV YORK.

ELECTRIC TEMPERATURE-REGULATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 357,838, datedfebruary 15, 1887. Application filed January 9, 1886. :Serial No. 188,055. (No model.)

To all whom it may conoernl Be it known that I, CHARLES E. LEE, acitizen of the United States, residing at Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented an Improved Electric Temperature-Regulator, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to an improvedtemperature-regulator, designed to be used in connection with a suitable thermostat to regulate the temperature of rooms or buildings, which improvements are fullydescribed and illustrated in the following specification and accompanying drawings, and the novel features thereof specified in the claims annexed to the said specification.

My improved electric temperatu re-regulator is represented in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is aside elevation of theapparatus. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, partially in section, on the line a: m, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the thermostat or electric circuit-closer,showing also the electric connections. Fig. 4 is an inverted view of the thermostat. Fig. 5 is a side elevation, partially in section, of the same. Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating the movement of the armature. Fig. 7 represents the make-andbreak detached.

In the accompanying drawings, Ais a ring, of suitable dimensions, by which the various operative parts of my improved temperatureregulator, except the thermostat, are designed to be connected with a hot-air flue, N N, or the air-inlet or smoke-pipe of an ordinary heating-furnace. Connected with the ring A is a suitable frame-work, C C, which sustains a suitable electromagnea E, its armature G and make-and-break L, and the bindingscrews or electric connections H I J. The armature In Fig. l the valve B is represented as closing the pipe or passage through the ring A, and its position, when open, is represented by the dotted line B, Fig. 2. Thearrangement is such that when an electric current passes through the wires of the electro-magnet the armature G is attracted and caused to swing from the position represented in full lines in Fig. 6 to the position G, indicated by the dotted lines in said figure, or vice versa, thereby either opening or closing the valve B, as may be desired, for the particular purpose to which the apparatus is applied.

The thermostat, by which the electric circuit is closed as the temperature rises or falls below the desired point, and its connections 0 P Q and battery Z are represented in Fig. 3. The electric circuit is normally open; but if the temperature in the room or apartment rises above or falls below the desired limit the compound metal bar or thermostatic strip S will close the circuit by coming in contact with one of the contact-screws k is, thereby causing the electric currentwhich goes through .the electro-magnet, the cores of which then become magnetic, to attract the armature G, causing it to swing and open or close the valve B.

In order to permit the armature to swing from G to G, or vice versa, it is necessary to provide a make-and-break.which will automatically break the electric circuit when the armature comes opposite the core of the electro-magnet. In order to accomplish this result,

I provide the pivoted makeand-break L,which consists, essentially, of the radial arms e e and the curved segments r r, having an opening 0 between their inner ends, in which the arm or bar f, attached to the spindle F, swings during the first portion of its movement, or that in which it is approaching the electro-magnet.

The position of the parts when the valve is 5 closed are represented in full lines in Fig. 2, and it will be observed that the valve B extends across the ring at right angles with the pipe N N, and that the outer end of the radial arm 0 bears on the contact-point 's, which is connected with the bindi'ngscrew H, from which the wire P, Fig. 3, leads to the contactpoint 70' of the thermostat. The make-andbreak L is arranged so as to be in electrical connection with the frame C, to which one end, h, of the wire of the electro-maguet is attached, as represented in Fig. 1. The circuit is completed through the bar S of the ther-' mostat and the wire Q, to the insulated binding-post J, to which the opposite end, h of the wire of the electro-magnet is attached. When the electric circuit through the electro magnet is completed by the thermostat, the arm (2 of the make-and-break L remains in electrical connection with the contact-point 8 until the armature has swung through about one-halfof its path, thereby bringing the arm f in contact with the inner end of the curved segment r and causing it to swing from the position represented in full lines to that shown in dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 7, when the radial arm 6 will come in contact with the points, thereby completing the electric circuit through the connection 0, and putting the apparatus in position for the movement of the thermostatic barS in the opposite direction-that is, into contaot'with the point k-so as to complete the circuit through the wire 0. The makeand-break L is pivoted to the frame, so as to swing freely to and fro.

In the drawings I have rep resented the makeand-break as attached to a short shaft or spindle, c, Fig. 1, one end of which is inserted in a lug, b, attachedto the frame, while the other end is supported by a screw, d, inserted in the lug a,- but any other convenient means of supporting the make-and-break may be adopted. The bar or rod fis provided at its outer end with the offset arm to which the spring h its openror closed position.

is attached. The spring h operates to facilitate the movement of the armature G over the center and also to hold the valve B in either I provide means for adjusting the tension of the spring, which means may consist of a hook, 0, Fig. 1, on a stem, 2, which is adjustably secured in a hole in the frame by means of a binding-screw. Any other suitable means of adjusting the tension of the spring may, however, be applied. A weight may be substituted for the spring; but neither the spring nor the weight is essential to the operation of the mechanism.

In the accompanying drawings I have represented the eleetro-magnet as consisting of two legs, E E, wound with wire and attached together at their'upper ends, so as to constitute a horseshoemagnet; but it is obvious that any suitable form of electro'maguet may be employed.

Any suitable thermostat may be employed in connection with my improved electric temperature-regulator. In the drawings I have represented Y a form of thermostat which I have found satisfactory in practical use, and

-which consists of a suitable base, B, on which the thermostatic bar S is mounted, so that its free end will swing to and fro under the influence of a varying temperature, so as to make electrical contact with the points is k.

The thermostatic bar is formed of different metals, which expand unequally with heat, soldered together throughout their lengths. Strips of zinc and iron answer the purpose satisfactorily. The end of the'thermostatic bar is attached to a lug, Fig. 3, on a disk, I, at

tached rigidly or by a screw, m, to the lever U, Fig. 4. The outer end of the lever U is pivoted at z to the lever T, which is itself pivoted at y to the plate R, and has .its free end provided with a pointer, w, arranged to swing in the curved slot (1, provided with graduations on its edge, as representedin Fig. 3. By varying the position of the outer end of the lever T aslight movement will be transmitted to the disk 1, and the free end of the thermostatic bar will be adjusted relatively to the contact-points k k, so as to adapt the apparatus to maintain the temperature at any desired degree in the apartment in which the thermostat is located. The contact-points We are inserted in suitable insulated posts secured to the plate B by the binding-screwsp p, Fig. 4, or other suitable device. The movement of the lever T is indicated by the dotted line T, Fig. 4.

In order to exclude dust from the apparatus, I attach to the sides of the frame 0 the plates D D, Fig. 2, one or both of which may be made removable by means Y of screws or other suitable devices, in order to permit access to the electrical apparatus inclosed within the case formed by the frame and the plates.

In the drawings I" have represented the frame 0 as-cast in one piece with the ring A; but it is obvious that it might be made separate from the ring and attached thereto in any convenient manner. The spindle F passes through an opening in .the side of the ring.

I claim- 1. The combination, with the electromagnet E, of the pivoted armature G, provided with arm 7", and the make-and-break L, consisting of arms 6 e and segments 1' r, and the electric connections 8 s, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the electro-magnet E, of the pivoted armature G, provided with arm f, and the make-and-break L, consisting of arms e e and segments r r, electric connections 8 s, thermostat R, damper B, and double electric circuit 0 P Q, substantially as described.

. 3. The combination, with the electromagnet E, of the damper B and pivoted armature G, arranged to swing in a circular arc across the pole of the magnet, a double electric circuit and a thermostat, and a pivoted makeand-break operated by the armature and constructed tobreak one of the electric circuits at the time the armature is nearest the magnet and to close the other circuit at the end of the oscillation of the armature, whereby the device is adapted to open and close the damper positively by the attraction of the magnet, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

WVitnesses:

GEo. B. SELDEN, H. G. PHILLIPS. 

